Words Unsaid
by Punch Drunk Marc
Summary: What is there left to say when your mind is heavy with doubt and your heart is drowned by regrets? How do you face the one you love when everything you knew crumbled long ago?


I do not own **Bleach** or any of its colorful characters they are property of Tite Kubo and Jump. This is my first story. Came to me in a fit of boredom. Let me know what you guys think.

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**_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._**

The alarm seemed to ring louder than usual today.

He tried to ignore it, but he knew that he had to get up and the day started.

Ichigo rolled over, turned off the alarm, and stared at the ceiling in his room.

Then looked outside, it was cloudy…

*sigh*_ Looks like it's gonna rain again today._

He had the dream again; this time it was much more vivid, but still a blur.

He looked over at her face and told her good morning as she kissed her on the forehead.

She said nothing, as usual; he knew this morning would be no different than the previous ones, but he still tried to get a response.

He emerged from the shower and put on his shirt and pant as he headed downstairs.

He poured his usual bowl of cereal, she hadn't made him a real meal in ages. He missed her odd recipes, some of them good, some of them bad; he didn't as long as she made something.

He didn't know how to cook; in fact every time he tried the fire dept. had to come.

She didn't care though, she found his attempts to be more handy cute; it was one of the many things she loved about him. He wondered what changed.

He had no time to ponder about it, he was already running late for work.

"See ya Orihime, I'll be home after work." He yelled, but got no reply. He grabbed his Substitute pass and headed out through the window sullen as he left, after what he did he wasn't expecting a sound from her anyway; but he could at least hope.

Since the war against the Quinces, a few gargantas had been appearing around Karakura; which meant a huge influx of Hollows. This prompted the Soul Society to station a few Shinigami at these points and serve as ambassadors to the World of the Living. Setting up areas designated to battle and exterminate the Hollows.

Ichigo was hired by the city to serve as an ambassador representing Karakura town since he already had previous experience against the monsters.

Renji, Rukia, & Hanatarō were sent as ambassadors from the Seireitei.

The job itself was easy and the pay was pretty good; so he had no complaints, plus he was happy to see his friends again.

They received a job that reported an arrancar sighting near the city center and they took off.

They used shunpo to get there before any major damage could be done.

"Heh, you would think after Aizen was beaten they would have stopped rising up." Renji commented,

"Yeah." Ichigo replied, his voice weighed heavy with regret.

Agitated, Rukia yelled, "Quit talking you two, we have to stop him before he tears the city down."

"Hanatarō, get these people clear."

"Right." He nodded and proceed to herd people away while still in his gigai.

…

…

They sat down in a nearby park after the battle as they waited for their next order.

The arrancar went down easy enough, but Renji could tell that Ichigo's heart wasn't in it.

"She's still not talking to you huh?" He said while sipping from a water bottle.

Ichigo gave Renji a glance then looked back down at the ground.

"No…she hasn't."

"Well you sulking isn't going to fix anything, you have to try and _talk _to her, say more than just good morning and good night."

"I know…I know, Chad, Uryu, & Tatsuki told me the same thing. But…I don't what I could say that would fix things."

Renji leaned back on the bench and looked in to the sky.

"Don't worry about it, you'll think of something. Just do what you can. I'm sure she doesn't blame you, it was a mistake anyone could have made."

"But she trusted me man. She trusted me…and I let her down. I don't think she will trust me again."

_Bam._

Renji hit him on the back of the head as he stood

"Ah." Ichigo said in pain as he looked up at Renji. "What the hell was that for?"

"Quit sulking and just go talk to her, you won't know anything unless you try."

He then looked at Rukia who was on the bench next to them who was feeding ducks with Hanatarō

"Rukia would say the same thing, and I know you don't want to have this same conversation with _her_."

He looked up at his smiling friend as their phones sounded; it was another attack.

Ichigo got up from the bench, but Renji stopped him.

"Go see her Ichigo, go talk to her; the three of us can handle this."

"But…"

"Go, Ichigo" Rukia chimed in

"I'm sure she wants to talk to you too, you just have to show her your willing to try."

He looks at his three friends smiling back at him as the shunpo off to the next attack, he nods at them as the leave and starts to run back home; stopping at a flower shop on his way back.

"Hopefully she likes these." He says smiling

He walked up he long hill, each step getting heavier and heavier.

He gets more anxious as he approaches his destination, shaking.

But he composes himself as he approaches the tombstone on the top of the hill that reads.

"Orihime Kurosaki: As beautiful in death as she was in life"

He places the flowers down as a couple tears start to drip down his face.

"Hey…I know I haven't been here in a while, and I apologize for that. But I couldn't bring myself to face you since…" He stops as the tears continue to stream down his face.

He breaks down to his knees and sobs as the rain starts to pour.

He placed his left hand atop the cold head stone.

"I'm so sorry Orihime; it was my job to protect you, to love you. I was so supposed to always be there for you, but I let you down. I couldn't save you, and I know this is selfish of me to ask but..." He said as he tried to compose himself…

"Do you hate me? Do you hate that I wasn't there when you needed me the most? I would understand if you did. I wouldn't blame you. I don't deserve the love you gave me. The whole time we were together I never said 'I love you.'. I did, I really did but I just never knew how to say it. But you didn't care if I said it or not, you still loved me despite my hang-ups. I just wish you were still here, I don't know…what I'm doing without you. Please, tell me something, anything. I don't care what it is; I just want to hear your voice one more time. " He continued to sob as the rain poured down harder

Suddenly, the rain stopped and a light shone from the sky.

A pair of arms wrapped themselves around Ichigo's body and held his head close to its breast.

He stopped sobbing and looked up at the one holding him.

His eyes opened in shock as he looked upon their face through a river of auburn hair.

"Ori…Orihime?" He asked in disbelief.

She looked down on him and smiled, nodding her head.

"Yes Ichigo, I'm here." She said, her beautiful voice filling his ears and heart with love.

"But how? Rukia said you were in the Seireitei?"

"I was, but I heard your cries and asked Head Captain Kyōraku if I could come see you, but I can only do this one time."

He didn't care about the conditions, he was just happy to see his wife again.

"Orihime I…" She placed a finger over his lips to stop him from continuing.

"I know Ichigo, and no I don't hate you…I could never hate you." She said, her warm loving smile still on her face

"I know you tried your best to protect me; and I love you for it, I always have. The years we had together were the best I ever had with anyone. I couldn't tell you how happy I am that I was able to know you let alone spend the remainder of my life with you."

"Orihime, I'm so sorry I never told you that…" He said fighting back tears

She wiped them from his face.

"I know you loved me; I thank you for that. You may not have said it, but I always knew."

He leaned in towards her, smelling her familiar and soothing scent; he had missed it for so long, savoring every moment he had been forced to be without.

He sat up, removing his head from her breast as he grabbed her waist and began to pull her in closer to him; looking into her steel grey eyes and stroking her long auburn hair as it glowed in the white light.

She looked into his eyes and felt his intensity, his passion; she had yearned for his touch for so long, she dreamed about it every night; it was one of the many reasons she fell in love with him.

He moved his lips closer to hers as he continued to caress her back; lightly stroking it as he pulled her in ever closer.

Their mouths opened and their breaths began to combine as they shared one final kiss.

It only lasted a minute, but to them it felt like forever.

They taste of her lips was always sweet on his tongue; he had been so long without it that he almost lost control of himself.

She felt the same way, as her tongue touched his she knew that this visit was worth it; if only to see the man she loved one last time.

The world seemed to stop spinning as they tightly embraced one another.

They both stood up as the smile returned to Ichigo's face.

"Thank you, thank you for everything. I'm so happy that you chose me to be the one you love."

"I feel the same way Ichigo; I'll see you later." She said to him as she began to fade away.

"I love you."

"I love you too; always."

He watched as she faded away and looked into the sky.

"Looks like the rain is stopping." He said smiling

He look back at her grave.

"I'll be back tomorrow."

He walked back home, and looked at the picture of her by his bed side.

He smiled again and said to himself

_She's still as beautiful as ever._

He then turned the light off and went to sleep.

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I think it turned out pretty well for a first time. I have another story I'm working on too, but i haven't gotten it right. But as stated earlier let me know what you think. :)


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